Sandustry Production Ratio Helper

Sandustry factories fail quietly: shakers idle while you dig, mixers run dry, or slag buries conveyors. This production ratio helper is a fan wiki reference — not a separate app — with tables you consult while planning expansions. Numbers assume vanilla demo/Early Access physics and community-reported ~20–25% gold proc per shaker pass on Wet Sand. Patch rebalance? Check Demo Patches and refresh mental models.

Core conversion chain

Sand + Water → Wet Sand → Shakers → Gold + Slag
Slag + Burn → Burnt Slag → Kinetic Slag Press → Bonus Gold

Full loop: How to Play, Slag Processing.

Baseline ratios (starter factory)

These starting points keep one diagonal shaker row fed in typical demo terrain:

Stage	Rule of thumb	Notes
Sand mining	1 worker-minutes of dig ≈ 1 mixer cycle buffer	Stockpile sand near mixer before scaling shakers
Water supply	1 active mixer needs steady water tile or pipe drip	Starvation zeroes gold — Water Management
Mixers	1 mixer feeds 1–2 shakers early	Add mixer before third shaker
Shakers	Each shaker needs continuous Wet Sand	Diagonal placement mandatory (How to Get Gold)
Gold yield	~20–25% proc per pass	Variance is normal; average over time
Slag output	~75–80% of wet sand mass becomes slag	Do not discard — press line recovers gold

Scaling table (mid factory)

When Logistics 1 belts move materials for you (Automation Basics):

Shaker rows (diagonal)	Mixers (approx.)	Water notes	Slag burn
1	1	Bucket or short pipe OK	Manual Flamethrower piles
2	1–2	Pipe recommended	Burn lane per row
3	2	Pump + vent consideration	Shared burn belt
4+	2–3+	Dedicated pipe spine	Burnt slag queue to press

Add Filters when mixed streams appear (Buildings). Add Refining 2 press when burnt slag backlog exceeds one launcher cycle.

Slag and press ratios

Step	Input	Output intent
Shaker	Wet Sand	Gold + Slag
Burn (Flamethrower/Lava)	Slag	Burnt Slag
Kinetic Slag Press	Burnt Slag	Bonus Gold

Rule: Burn throughput ≥ slag production before buying a second press. One press starved of burnt slag is wasted Refining 2 gold — see Research Priority.

Conveyor throughput sanity checks

Conveyors are not infinite bandwidth in practice — clumps and launcher gaps matter:

• One conveyor lane comfortably feeds 1–2 shakers if sand is pre-wetted upstream.
• Launcher elevators need Shift skip spacing (Build Modes).
• Splitters / filters divide ratios — each branch needs downstream capacity or backup storage.

If belts look full but shakers starve, check mixer placement first, not belt length.

Worked example

Goal: Two diagonal shakers, automated sand and water.

1. Mine Sand into a staging bin above mixers.
2. Pipe Water to two mixers (or one fast mixer if your build supports it).
3. Convey Wet Sand to two shakers on separate diagonals.
4. Collect Slag on a merge belt to a Flamethrower burn pit.
5. Convey Burnt Slag to one Kinetic Slag Press after Refining 2.
6. Spend gold on Filters if sand contaminates slag lines.

If step 3 starves, add mixer or water before adding a third shaker.

When ratios lie

Manual digging variance — Early game ratios ignore walk time; unlock logistics when haul time dominates.

Ice / water loss — Frozen tiles or steam vents change effective water (Materials).

Mods — Custom maps (Custom Maps) may alter terrain throughput.

Patch rebalance — EA launch 2026-08-13 may tweak machine speeds; re-verify after major notes on EA Roadmap.

Tools to use together

• Research Checklist — Unlock order while scaling.
• Tier List — Priority when ratios show a bottleneck type.
• Getting Started — First layout before math.

FAQ-style ratio tips

Doubling shakers without doubling water → 0% marginal gold increase.

Press before burn lane → idle press, slag piles grow.

Flat shakers → gold stuck on grate; fix geometry before ratios.

Drones before ratios work → expensive babysitting — defer per Tools Priority.

Use this page as a spreadsheet substitute at the planning desk; validate in-game with a timer and one expansion at a time.